Get Recommendations Right: Thumbs Up as Important as Thumbs Down
With so much content available, getting the right recommendations in front of viewers is important for video services. According to Hillary Henderson, director of product management for IP-based content management and distribution company Clearleap, streaming music service Pandora offers an important lesson in the value of negative ratings.
"Pandora, I think, started out with only the thumbs-up, because that was the positive 'I liked it, give me more of this.' They were kind of one of the pioneers of that type of recommendation until they discovered that was making everyone's experience very, very tunnel vision," Henderson said. "They discovered that they needed to—even though it's more negative to have a thumbs-down, that's needed for that type of serendipity."
Speaking at the recent Streaming Media West conference, Henderson also explained the value of having individual accounts for each viewer.
"If you want to own that subscriber and that's your goal and you want to be their entertainment provider, then user profiles and knowing what they specifically watched—because invariably they're probably going to live in a multi-person household, whether it's roommates or whether it's a family—having that concept of a user and being able to attach that user to their experience and filter that experience to them specifically is really critical," Henderson added.
For more, watch the full search and discovery discussion below.
Best Practices for Search & Discovery in a Connected World
Connected TVs and other streaming devices enable viewers to watch entire seasons of their favorite shows in a single sitting and remove them from the constrictions of linear TV. As a result, content owners need to get smart about how to market, organize, and present their content in connected environments so that they don’t miss out on opportunities to gain new viewers. This session provides expert advice about creating an effortless and engaging search and discovery process. Learn about playlists, curation and recommendations, metadata, sharing content across social media channels, and ways to make sure consumers pick your content on their device.
Moderator: Sarah Barry James, Senior Reporter - SNL Kagan
Phil Ranta, VP, Talent Operations - Fullscreen
Hillary Henderson, Director, Product Management - Clearleap
Simon Jones, Solutions Marketing Director - Ooyala
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